Back- to-school list goes digital

Like a growing number of students in area schools, some of those returning to Parkview schools this fall will be learning on an iPad.

File photo

Like a growing number of students in area schools, some of those returning to Parkview schools this fall will be learning on an iPad.

ORFORDVILLE — Incoming Parkview School District students will pick up some very different equipment this fall when classes start again. Starting this school year, Parkview School District's seventh- through 12th-grade students will be issued an iPad that will be their constant companion throughout their high school career.

The move toward a one-to-one device program follows a nationwide trend, with the School District of Beloit jumping in this year as well for their second-,

fourth- and fifth-grade students.

So does that mean the days of books and pens are over?

“This technology makes it possible for students to be engaged at a higher level, which we hope will promote higher student achievement,” said Parkside School District Administrator Steve Lutzke. “It's the 21st century, and we are living in a technological age, and one of our missions as a school district is to help students become capable users of technology in an appropriate manner.

“We also have aging textbooks that we will be able to move over to a digital format and give more current information to our students in a less expensive manner.”

Teachers in the district already received training on the devices over the summer through a series of workshops.

Teachers will be the primary instructors for their students on how to use the devices and how to navigate through the different applications.

Lutzke said the school will roll out the new iPads to students in seventh, eighth and ninth grades first, which will allow staff members to monitor the use of the devices and test their systems before opening up into a schoolwide implementation.